Water is a critical resource for L3Harris and the communities in which we operate. In addition to potable uses (consumption and hygiene), L3Harris uses water to cool buildings and in our manufacturing processes.
Potable water resources are also increasingly scarce as global demand surges and the impacts of climate change become more pronounced. To address this risk and help protect the global and local environment, L3Harris has set meaningful water use reduction goals. As a part of our continued efforts to reduce water usage, L3Harris is in the process of implementing Operation Splashdown, a stormwater reuse project at one of our larger Florida sites.
The Florida site utilizes evaporative cooling towers in the HVAC system, which facilitates cooling in the chilled water system, and then pumps the chilled water across campus. The HVAC system accounts for 60–70% of all water consumed at the facility. Historically, the cooling towers relied on potable water from the local municipality, but L3Harris will partner with a project developer to take advantage of an alternative water source: an onsite stormwater pond. By using filtered stormwater, the site is estimated to save approximately 20 million gallons of potable water per year. The filtered stormwater is expected to cost less than the municipal potable water, making Operation Splashdown both environmentally and financially beneficial. The project also increases L3Harris’ operational resiliency by adding an additional water source for critical HVAC equipment. This built-in redundancy reduces reliance on external infrastructure and potential downtime in the event of utility service interruptions.
In 2022 L3Harris and our partners completed initial designs, and the team is currently overseeing site testing. Construction is set to begin in 2023, and the project is expected to be operational in 2024 at the latest. L3Harris plans to accelerate reduction projects across the company to continue to minimize our water footprint.
“Our commitment to support the communities in which we operate extends to finding ways to reduce our use of the world’s natural resources.” Byron Green, Vice President, Global Operations, L3Harris